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Confocal micrograph of breast cancer cells isolated
from a patient with a pre-invasive form of breast cancer.
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Image by Dr Simona Donatello, UCD Conway
Institute
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UCD Conway Institute of
Biomolecular & Biomedical Research; Winter barley head.
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Edna Curley / UCD School of Agriculture, Food Science & Veterinary
Medicine
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Health and healthcare delivery is a major research theme for the university and the UCD College of Life Sciences is at the heart of this research activity.
A Center For Life Science Innovation
The UCD College of Life Sciences is dedicated to the creation, delivery and communication of new knowledge and innovation in the key research areas of food and health, biopharmaceuticals and pharmacological science, and translational medicine. The College of Life Sciences is leading life science innovation with a number of research collaborations, including three Strategic Research Clusters (SRCs). These SRCs are funded by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and they link scientists, engineers and clinicians in partnerships across academia and industry in research areas of strategic importance to Ireland. The life science related SRCs at UCD are BioNanoInteract (nanobiology and nanomedicine), the Irish Drug Delivery Network, and Reproductive Biology.
UCD Conway Institute Of Biomolecular & Biomedical Research
At the hub of life science research is the UCD Conway Institute, Ireland's leading biomedical research center. The research program is organized into three centers: synthesis and chemical biology, integrative biology, and molecular medicine. Multi-disciplinary collaboration enables the 400-strong research team to participate in translational programs that focus on major diseases such as diabetes, arthritis, Alzheimer's disease, breast and prostate cancer.
Recent discoveries by UCD Conway Investigators include a test for newly diagnosed breast cancer patients that could help patients avoid chemotherapy by measuring the levels of uPA enzyme in the tumor. "At the moment most women undergo long and uncomfortable sessions of chemotherapy after their initial breast surgery, but this new enzyme test can help to offer a more tailored solution for patients," explains Professor Joe Duffy who led the team that developed the test, which is now recommended for all newly diagnosed breast cancer patients by The American Society of Clinical Oncology.
Advances have also been made by UCD Conway Investigators in developing a new treatment for inflammatory bowel disease - a set of hydroxylase inhibitor drugs that can reverse the progress of the disease has been discovered and have shown success in an experimental disease model. The Irish researchers are now collaborating with research teams in the University of Colorado to further develop the treatment.
UCD Institute Of Food & Health
In Ireland, the agri-food and drink sector is valued at €16.6 billion and accounts for 8.5% of total employment. Against this background, the UCD Institute of Food and Health was established this year to integrate existing food-related disciplines and optimize UCD's potential as a global force in food and nutrition research. UCD is unique in its repertoire of food and health related academic disciplines covering the entire food chain and the food and health spectrum from farm to fork and onwards to the consumer and clinic.
National Institute For Bioprocessing Research & Training (NIBRT)
NIBRT is a world-class institute that provides training and research solutions for the bioprocessing industry. The Institute, under the leadership of newly appointed CEO, Dr Maurice Treacy, is based on an innovative collaboration between UCD, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin City University, and Institute of Technology Sligo.
NIBRT has been successful in securing a number of significant research and training contracts from the bioprocessing sector in Ireland as well as five Principal Investigators as part of its ambitious research program. Among these is Professor Pauline Rudd of the Dublin Oxford Glycobiology Laboratory which was formed when the Glycan Sequencing Group at the Glycobiology Institute, Oxford, relocated to the UCD Conway Institute in 2006. The group's pioneering work has provided state-of-the-art technology for glycan analysis that is now used by many laboratories worldwide.
"We have state-of-the-art technology for glycan analysis, which is very applicable to the bioprocessing industry that is making glycosylated therapies. The new generation of biological products will mostly be glycoproteins, such as erithropoetin, the pituitary hormone used in IVF treatment. This is an extremely exciting area of research to be in," Rudd says.
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UCD Conway Institute of
Biomolecular & Biomedical Research
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Jason Clarke Photography
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Professor Ciaran Regan receiving the NovaUCD Innovation Award 2007 in recognition of his success in
the commercialization of neuroscience research
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Jason Clarke Photography
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Molecular Medicine Ireland
UCD joined forces this year with NUI Galway, University College Cork, Trinity College Dublin, and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland to coordinate their health research activities by establishing Molecular Medicine Ireland (MMI). MMI will strengthen Ireland's profile in health research by combining and building on the biomedical research strengths of each institution, accelerating the translation of recent rapid advances in science into new ways of understanding disease and new diagnostics, drugs and devices to treat and prevent illness.
MMI has taken the initiative to train tomorrow's leaders in health research through a fellowship program which will train medical graduates as clinician scientists by undertaking PhDs in one of the five member institutions to deepen their knowledge of the science underlying medicine.
UCD Diabetes Research Center
Owing to UCD's internationally recognized expertise in diabetes (diabetic nephropathy, diabetic retinopathy and diabesity), the SFI-funded UCD Diabetes Research Center was established in collaboration with Wyeth. The center brings together experts in clinical and translational medicine, genetic epidemiology, public health and molecular cell biology together with UCD's affiliated teaching hospitals.
NOVAUCD
Nova UCD, the university's Innovation and Technology Transfer Center has commercialized a number of Life Sciences innovations in recent years that have resulted in spin-off companies.
Berand Neuropharmacology is a preclinical drug research company which offers a full spectrum of in-vivo neuropharmacology and pre-clinical neurobiology expertise. Professor Ciaran Regan was recognized for his commercialization successes at UCD, including co-founding Berand, by winning the NovaUCD 2007 Innovation Award and the Enterprise Ireland 2007 Life Science and Food Commercialization Award.
Celtic Catalysts is another UCD spin-off whose focus is on the area of chiral synthesis. The company has carved out a uniquely strong niche for itself in the specialized area of "P-chiral" technology which can be used in the production of a range of drugs which are particularly prevalent in anti-viral and anti-cancer therapeutic areas. Celtic Catalysts was the international winner of the "Rising Star Award" at the 2008 BioIndustry Association Thistle Bioscience Forum and the Nova UCD Innovation Award.